On September 4, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented a state of emergency across the entire Serian district in Sarawak after the Air Pollutant Index reached 515. The decision made following the advice from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg and relevant agencies. On the same day, Kuching recorded a hazardous reading of 306, while Samarahan and Sri Aman sat at 292 and 241 respectively, both in very unhealthy level. These are not merely numbers. The last haze emergency declared in Kuching was in September 1997, when the index hit 650, which means a whole generation born after that crisis has seeing for the first time just how bad this country’s air can get.
The cause is no mystery and it lies across the border. Thick haze has blanketed parts of Indonesia following fires that have destroyed vast areas of forest and peatland in Borneo and Sumatra over recent weeks. This year’s fire season is reported to be the worst in 11 years, with a Super El Nino raising temperatures and deepening the drought, to the point that emissions from Indonesian fires now account for one-third of all fire emissions worldwide. Yet this is not purely a natural disaster. Nusantara Atlas founder David Gaveau has been blunt that El Nino does not start the fires but creates the dry conditions that allow human-caused fires to spread and grow large. Kompas has reported a sharp rise in hotspots across Kalimantan since early August, more than half of them on oil palm plantation land. Firefighting efforts are substantial, with 53 aircraft deployed for water bombing and cloud seeding and further aircraft and personnel sent by Japan, including three CH-47 Chinook helicopters that conducted trial flights on September 10. The difficulty is that peat fires smoulder underground long after the surface appears extinguished.
The health toll is already heavy. In Indonesia, pollution-related respiratory cases more than doubled in eight days, rising from 50,891 on September 1st to 113,336 by September 9, with more than 12.5 million people across seven provinces exposed to the smoke. Malaysia is not exempt from the same biology. The fine PM2.5 particles in peat smoke are small enough to cross into the bloodstream rather than merely irritate the lungs, and the most vulnerable are children, the elderly, pregnant women, asthmatics and people with heart conditions. For market traders, construction crews, delivery riders and farmers, the advice to stay indoors is not an option that exists. The educational cost is equally real, with the Sarawak State Education Department confirming the closure of 591 schools in late August, affecting more than 197,000 pupils, and every lost school day is a long-term cost that appears in no government ledger.
For tourism, the timing could hardly be worse. This is Visit Malaysia 2026, with a target of 26.1 million foreign tourists, projected domestic spending of RM97.6 billion, and RM350 million allocated to boost tourism promotion and activities. The start was encouraging, with Malaysia recording 21,118,039 international arrivals between January and June 2026, up 2.5 per cent year on year, even as geopolitical tensions in West Asia forced the cancellation of 4,111 scheduled flights. The industry has already shown it can absorb external shocks. But haze attacks where the sector is least defensible, which is perception. Our strongest tourism activities are outdoor, from diving at Sipadan, climbing Kinabalu to Sarawak’s national parks, the islands of Langkawi and walking tours in George Town, none of them can be moved indoors. When images of a grey Kuching sky circulate globally, a traveller planning a holiday six months out will not distinguish between Serian and Melaka. They read Malaysia as hazy and book elsewhere. Past episodes show the same pattern repeating itself: hotel bookings cancelled, sporting events and business conferences were postponed, outdoor activities are cancelled, and the small operators are least able to absorb losses thus, carry the heaviest burden. For boat operators, guides and homestay owners in Sarawak and Sabah, one ruined season means a difficult year. There are too much on their plates.
Malaysia should be firmed but constructive in giving diplomatic pressure because the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution already exists yet stays as a document rather than a deterrent without enforcement mechanisms. Malaysian companies holding land concessions in Indonesia must be audited transparently, because it is difficult to point across the border when our own capital may be woven into the chain of burning. At the same time the country needs clear and automatic public health protocols, including free N95 masks for at-risk groups, designated clean-air shelters in community halls and schools, and binding employer guidance for outdoor workers once the index passes 200. Finally, Tourism Malaysia need an honest crisis communications strategy because denial destroys credibility. Publishing daily index readings by destination, encouraging flexible cancellation policies, and pivoting promotion toward indoor products such as museums, gastronomy and cultural performance during peak haze weeks is the more mature response.
Even though the haze will be cleared when the rain comes, the problem stays as our national policy lack of enforcement.
 
Dr. Mohd Zulfakar Mohd Nawi, CHP
Department of Professional Education and Postgraduates
Faculty of Technical and Vocational Education (FPTV)
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
This article was published in:
1. Focus Malaysia (focusmalaysia.my), 28 September 2026: When the air we breathe crosses borders: Why Malaysia needs more than rain to beat the hazeÂ
